Sydney's Second Chance
by autumnrose2010
Summary: Sydney is granted a second chance to win Lucie's love. Will he succeed this time?
1. Lucie

Lucie walked along the shoreline, picking up seashells. This was her favorite place to come when she wanted to remember Charles. He had been taken away from her in the prime of life, suddenly gone in the wake of a devastating epidemic, leaving his heartbroken wife and children to go on without him.

Little Lucie - she could hardly be called 'Little' now - was sixteen, with her mother's light brown curls and brown eyes. At ten, young Sydney was the spitting image of his father; so much so, in fact, that right after it had happened, his mother could barely stand to look at him. As time had gone by, it had gradually gotten just a little bit easier, but Lucie knew that the ache would always be there for all three of them.

"Here's a nice one." Lucie looked up into a pair of friendly brown eyes. The man himself was rather ordinary looking, middle aged with the typical lines of care creased into his face, dark brown hair streaked with gray tied back in a ponytail. Yet Lucie knew that she had known those eyes well, at another time. She just couldn't quite place them.

"Why, thank you, Mr. - "

"Collins. Simon Collins." He smiled and took her hand, which he kissed.

"It's lovely to meet you, Mr. Collins. I'm Lucie Darnay."

He laughed amiably. "Please, call me Simon."

"So what do you do, Mr. - , Simon, I mean."

"By trade? I'm a barrister." He had fallen into step beside her and they chatted comfortably as they walked along, as if they had known one another for some time rather than having just now met.

"Have you always lived in London?" he asked pleasantly.

"No. I was born in Paris. My father was unjustly imprisoned for many years, and after he was finally released, I met my future husband, who helped us to escape the Revolution and move to England."

"You're married, then."

"Charles died two years ago."

"I'm very sorry to hear that. You must miss him very much."

"Yes, I do. What about you? Are you married?"

"I've never married. I loved someone once, a long time ago, but she married another."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Lucie felt very awkward.

"Oh, that's all right. I ended up becoming very good friends with them both."

"The sun is so pretty when it's shining on the water, isn't it?" she remarked.

"This is one of my favorite places to come back to. London was my home, once," he replied.

"So where do you live now?" she asked.

He evaded the question. "So do you have children, then?" he asked her.

She smiled proudly. "Little Lucie is sixteen and Sydney is ten."

"Sydney." He looked very pensive.

"He's named for a very dear friend who...passed away a few years ago."

He heard the catch in her voice and frowned in concern. "Are you all right?" They had stopped walking and just stood together, facing one another.

"Oh, yes. Quite all right," she said hastily, perhaps just a bit _too _hastily. "I just hope that he realized how grateful I am to him for...everything he did for me."

"Why, I'm sure he did." Lucie suddenly found that Simon was holding both her hands and gazing earnestly into her eyes. _This is crazy, _she thought. _After all, I just **met**_ _him. Didn't I?_

"So, Lucie," he was saying. "Would it be all right if I called on you sometime?"

"Why, yes. Certainly. I think that would be lovely." As they began once again to walk along the shore, Lucie felt that a part of her past that had been missing had finally found its way back into her heart, and for the first time since losing Charles, she felt as if she could possibly be happy again. Eventually.


	2. Sydney's Choice

He couldn't believe how easy it had been. He'd expected it to be clumsy and awkward, that he'd fumble for the right words and make a fool of himself. Instead, their conversation had flowed very naturally, as if they were old friends greeting one another after some time apart, which in a way was exactly the case, although she'd had no idea that it was.

His mind drifted back to a point in time many years before to a place where he'd arrived as a result of a choice he'd made. Another choice that had followed had led him to where he was now.

* * *

_"Sydney Carton? I wasn't expecting to see you here for another twenty years." The tall Being glowing with light seemed genuinely surprised to see him._

_So it_ hadn't _been the end, after all. That was something he'd always wondered about, whether or not it really_ was _the end._ _Eventually, it had ceased to matter. Lucie and her happiness had been all that had mattered._

_"I came here in place of a friend, sir. He...was badly needed on earth."  
_

_"I see." The Being looked thoughtful. Quickly He checked the book which He held in His hands. "Ah, yes. Charles Evremonde, also known as Charles Darnay." He closed the book. "Why'd you do it, Sydney?"  
_

_"I did it for love, sir. She's the only thing in the world that matters to me, and the only thing I care about is that she's happy. I willingly gave up my own life so that the one she loves could remain with her."  
_

_The Being gazed at him. "You're a very unusual man, Sydney Carton. Such a selfless act deserves a reward."  
_

_"Is not heaven itself the reward for those who've lived virtuous lives?" asked Sydney.  
_

_"In most cases, yes. In your case, you have a choice to make."  
_

_"What kind of choice, sir?"  
_

_"You had strong romantic inclinations toward Mademoiselle Lucie Manette at one time, did you not?"  
_

_"Oh, yes, sir!"  
_

_"Yet she did not reciprocate your love, as another had claimed her heart. One of higher status and more virtue than yourself."  
_

_"Yes, sir."  
_

_"The choice I offer you is simply this: You may enter heaven twenty years prematurely and enjoy eternal bliss, or you may return to earth at some time in the future, after the one she loves has passed over himself. What I am prepared to grant you is a second chance to win her love."  
_

* * *

He'd had to return under a different name, of course, and his previous appearance had been altered somewhat, but many things about him were still the same. He was now a teetotaler, and he also took more pride in his appearance and always strove to look his best.

Even after all these years, she'd still looked much the same to him. As soon as he'd seen her again, the old longing and desire had returned with as much fervency as ever. He couldn't help but wonder what her reaction would have been if she'd immediately realized his true identity. The look in her eyes as they'd parted had given him hope that this time, things would be different.


	3. Flowers And Dinner

The man now known as Simon Collins cleared his throat, then mustered up his nerve and knocked on the door. For a long time, there was no answer, and he wondered whether he'd come at a bad time. He was just about to lose his nerve and walk away when the door was opened by a boy of about ten with dark hair and eyes.

"You must be Sydney," said Simon.

The boy's eyes widened. "How'd you know my name?"

"I know your mother," Simon told him.

Just then Lucie appeared. She saw that she had a visitor and smiled. "Simon!" she exclaimed happily.

"These are for you," Simon told her, holding out the bouquet he'd brought her.

"Why, they're beautiful!" Lucie exclaimed. "Thank you!"

She invited Simon in, then found a vase for the flowers. A moment later Little Lucie entered the room. She saw Simon and gasped with surprise.

"These are my children, Little Lucie and Sydney," Lucie told Simon. "Children, this is Simon Collins. I met him on the beach a couple of days ago."

"How do you do." Simon took the hand Little Lucie offered him and kissed it. "Why, you're lovely!"

"I know you." Little Lucie gazed into his eyes with wonder. "I can't say exactly how, but I _do _know you from somewhere."

"I'm sure that's not possible." Simon chuckled lightly. "I just arrived in London very recently."

"It was a long time ago," Little Lucie continued, as he hadn't spoken. "I was just a little girl." She laughed and shook her head. "It'll come to me eventually."

"Won't you join us for dinner?" Lucie asked Simon.

"Thank you very much. I'd be delighted to," Simon replied.

As they were eating, Simon and the family got to know each other better.

"Where did you live before you moved to London?" Little Lucie asked Simon.

"I've lived many places," Simon told her. "Must recently I was in Paris, France, but I was only there for a little while."

"I'd imagine things are really different there now, with Napoleon in power," Lucie commented.

"Oh, yes," Simon said.

"I was fortunate to escape before the Revolution," said Lucie. "We would have been all right, except..."

"Except what?" Simon asked gently.

Lucie sat her fork down. "Charles had a dear friend whom he'd been forced to leave behind. He'd promised to come to his friend's help if his friend should ever get into trouble. His friend was eventually arrested, and Charles returned to Paris to try to help him get free and was arrested himself."

"What did he do wrong?" asked Simon.

"He did nothing wrong," Lucie replied. "You see...Charles had formerly been a member of the French aristocracy. He disagreed with their ways, so he gave it all up, changed his name, and moved to London to start a new life. When he returned to Paris to help his friend, he was recognized and imprisoned himself. He was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to death."

"How did he escape?" asked Simon.

Lucie became very quiet. "That's another story, for another time," she said. "Why don't you tell me a bit more about yourself? You know all this about me, and I know next to nothing about you."

"I'm afraid there's not much to tell," Simon replied. "When I was much younger, I led a rather directionless life. I had a deep loneliness inside, and unfortunately, I turned to alcohol for solace. Then suddenly I thought I'd found a reason for living, and then just as quickly it was snatched away from me."

"You must have been devastated," Lucie murmured sympathetically.

"I was," Simon agreed. "After that, I lived mostly for memories of what might have been. I journeyed to Paris, and that was a real turning point for me. Something that happened to me there changed my life forever, and now I feel that I finally have hope for a better future, after all."

"What happened to you in Paris?" asked young Sydney.

"In a way I suppose you could say I traded lives with a friend," Simon told him. "As a result of that choice, new opportunities were opened up for me."

"What happened to your friend?" asked Little Lucie.

"He went on with his life, forever changed by his interaction with me. I lost touch with him a few years ago, but I trust that he's found peace."

Pleasant banter was exchanged for the rest of the meal, and Simon stayed with the family and visited for awhile afterwards. He was enjoying himself so much that he stayed quite late.

"Well, I suppose I'd better run along before I wear out my welcome," he finally said.

"Not at all. It's been a real pleasure," Lucie replied.

"Thank you very much for the delicious meal," said Simon.

"Thank _you _for the lovely flowers, and for the delightful company," Lucie replied.

"May I call on you again?" asked Simon.

"Please do," said Lucie. He took her hand and kissed it, and the old feelings came rushing back so quickly that he felt himself going weak. "Good-bye, lovely Lucie," he said.

"Good-bye, kind sir," said Lucie.

Little Lucie saw the look that had been in his eyes as he'd kissed her mother's hand, and it brought back a distant memory. She'd known a man who'd looked at her mother that way before, had known him quite well, in fact...


	4. Telling Little Lucie

As Simon returned home, he realized that he was happier than he'd been in a very long time. Perhaps ever. It felt as if his dearest wish had just been granted him, and perhaps it had.

_Little Lucie. _The young woman was very perceptive as well as beautiful. It was only a matter of time before she knew the truth about him. Maybe she already did. What had her mother told her after he had disappeared from their lives? Had she told her the horrible truth or made up a story about him having had to move away? Knowing Lucie, she would have done the thing which would have been least likely to cause her daughter pain. He knew that the little girl had been very fond of the family's regular visitor. To be told of his true fate would have broken her heart. So, most likely Little Lucie had been pacified with a hastily concocted imaginary tale.

Too tired to mull extensively over the situation, Simon fell asleep soon after reaching the place he now called home, which wasn't terribly far from the place he'd previously called home, all those years ago.

His night was filled with dreams, vivid images of life as it had been before, of longing to hold her in his arms and kiss her lips, of struggling to hide that desire from her and Charles. His dreams were so real that upon awakening, he wondered whether they'd really been dreams at all or actual memories relived in his subconscious. One thing he knew for sure was that he couldn't wait to see her again.

* * *

"Why on earth did you say what you did to him?" Lucie asked her daughter.

"Because it's true, Mother," Little Lucie replied. "He _is _someone I knew when I was a little girl."

Lucie felt a slight tingling in her spine.

"The way he answered all those questions we asked him after dinner," Little Lucie continued. "His answers seemed very vague to me."

"He's obviously a very private person," Lucie replied. "Perhaps he simply doesn't feel comfortable enough with us yet to give more definite answers."

"I think it's more than that," Little Lucie said thoughtfully. "It almost seems as if he's trying to hide something."

"I think you're right." Lucie suddenly had a disturbing thought. "Suppose he's dangerous?"

"But I don't feel afraid around him at all," Little Lucie told her mother. "In fact, it's just the opposite. I feel very safe with him around, almost as if he's been sent to protect us."

"I feel just the same way," said Lucie.

"There's something about his initials...S.C...we once knew a man with those initials, didn't we? It was a long time ago..."

For Lucie it was just like being struck by a bolt of lightening. "It can't be the man you're thinking of, Lucie. That man..." She caught herself just in time.

"Had to go away," Little Lucie finished for her. "But you never told me where he went."

"I never told you, Lucie..." Lucie could hold back the tears no longer. "I never told you because...he died, Lucie. He's gone." Her body was wracked with sobs.

"Oh, no!" Little Lucie gasped. "How did he die?"

"Do you remember when your father was imprisoned in Paris? You were very young then."

"Vaguely."

"I never told you the whole story about how he was freed."

"You didn't?"

"No, I didn't." Lucie took a deep breath. "You remember, Lucie, that your father and Sydney strongly resembled each other."

"Yes."

"Well, when Sydney found out what had happened to your father, he came up with a plan to get him out of prison. He went to Paris, visited the prison pretending to be a friend of an inmate, and tricked your father into changing places with him. He went to the guillotine in your father's place, Lucie. And he did it all out of love for me."

"Oh, Mother!" Little Lucie was sobbing now as well. "I had no idea...but you're right. It _couldn't _be him."


	5. Father Figure

When he'd known her, known _them, _before, there had been an understanding that he was free to drop by unannounced any time he wanted, with or without an invitation. That arrangement could obviously not still exist. While she'd known Sydney Carton well, she'd only just now met Simon Collins.

Still, his longing to see her again lingered, and the more time passed, the stronger it got. He wondered how often she frequented the beach where they'd met, and whether it would be judicious to return there in hopes of meeting up with her again.

As it turned out, he didn't have to wait very long at all. One evening he was walking home from work when a ball suddenly bounced into his path. He looked for its owner and saw none other than young Sydney Darnay, slightly out of breath from chasing his ball. Simon scooped it up and handed it to the youngster.

"Thank you, sir." The boy's eyes widened with recognition. "Mr. Collins! Good to see you again."

"Nice to see you again as well, Sydney. How are your mother and sister?"

"Fine, thank you. We're all a bit lonely with Papa gone now, but we manage all right. We have each other."

"You're rather young to be the man of the house already. It is truly a pity."

"I think I'm the one who misses Papa the most," Sydney replied. "He used to take me hunting and fishing and play ball with me. Now I've got nobody to do those things with anymore. Lucie used to play ball with me sometimes, but she thinks she's too old now and it wouldn't be ladylike."

"You know, it's really a coincidence," Simon told him. "I've always thought how nice it would be to have a son to take hunting or fishing or to play ball with, but I've never had one."

"I've got an idea!" Sydney's eyes lit up with excitement. "Since you don't have a son, and I don't have a father anymore, maybe we could do those things together!"

"What a lovely idea!" Simon agreed. "We can start whenever you want."

"How about now?" Sydney suggested hopefully. They played ball for a couple of hours, and by then it was getting dark so Sydney had to head back home.

"Would it be all right if I stopped by for just a moment to say hello to your mother and sister?" asked Simon.

Sydney shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"

* * *

Lucie saw him coming, and her heart skipped a beat. She realized now how familiar his gate, his mannerisms, so many things about him were. But surely it couldn't be the same man. When people died, they stayed dead. They didn't just suddenly reappear in the same place in very similar form a few years later. Did they?

"Lucie!" he called when he saw her, his eyes lighting up. Only the eyes of two men had lit up like that when they saw her: those of Charles, and..._his._

"Simon. What a pleasure it is to see you again." She smiled. He saw that it lit up her whole face, just as it always had.

"Mr. Collins said that since Papa's gone, he can be the one to take me hunting and fishing and play ball with me now! Isn't that great?" Sydney exclaimed excitedly.

"Why, that was very nice of him," Lucie replied.

"I'm also more than willing to be of service to yourself and your daughter in every way possible," Simon offered. His warm brown eyes met her blue ones, and in them he thought he saw a glimmer of recognition.

"I'd be much obliged...Simon," she said as she clasped his hand.


End file.
